By Ndey Sowe
Stakeholders in the Nafa Program have their beneficiary enrolment into the Nafa Program targeting the extremely poor households, as it was rolled out to the remaining 17 other districts across the country.
The Nafa Program is a combination of Cash Transfer and Social and Behavioural Change Communication (SBCC) implemented in phases.
The first phase involved three districts Foni Bintang in West Coast Region, Nianija in the Central River Region, and Wuli West in the Upper River Region.
The National Nutrition Agency, Department of Community Development, and Directorates of Social Welfare are the implementing partners of the Nafa Program are part of The Gambia Social Safety Net Project, which aims to strengthen the Coordination of social assistance activities and increase the inclusion of the extremely poor in the Nafa Program.
Sako Jammeh from the Department of Community Development at Madina Sancha in Kiang East, Lower River Region (LRR) explained that the process is going on smoothly and people are very cooperative because everybody is eager to be registered.
He said all the villages have been sensitized while women are encouraged as they should be principal recipients and men to be procreators, which every household has appreciated and women come out in large numbers.
Babucarr N Joof, Program Manager at NaNA as well as the GRM Focal Person for the Nafa Program said they are expecting to roll out 1,083 households in the Lower River Region which include Kiang West 548 beneficiary households. He noted that in Kiang Central it is 265 beneficiary households and in Kiang East it is 270 beneficiary households
“We are here in Madina Sancha, it has a total of 75 beneficiary households”, Mr Joof indicated. We have trained the data collectors from the partners and they are doing a great job. Our job here is to make sure that the data they are collecting is quality and enrolled in the right beneficiary households.
Mr. Joof indicated that they have done a lot of work in terms of mobilization, so they encouraged their regional staff and MDFTs to get to the communities, and talk to the Alkalos and Village development committees before the enrolment and that has really helped them in the mobilization of the communities for the enrolment.
Ndumeh Touray, a beneficiary registered into the Nafa Program from Madina Sancha expressed delight and happiness for her enrolment into the Nafa Program as she said, the Nafa Program will help her and her family in terms of feeding, schooling for her children such as uniform and shoes.
Fatoumata Jawneh, working with the Department of Community Development in an interview at Sare Sarjo in Kiang Central said since they started the enrolment, they do not have any challenges and they have enrolled almost their targeted number for Kiang Central.
A beneficiary from King Central, Abdoulie Ceesay said the project is very important to them because as a poor family, he believes that the program will help and support them in building their household resilience.
“I have many children and sometimes I do not have money to even buy candles for my house and we are happy that the project could not have come at a better time and when I have the money, I will use some of it to buy ruminant to support myself in the future even when the project is finished “, he said.